WASHINGTON — The City Council waived competitive bidding this week so River City Construction of East Peoria can do urgent repair work on a city sewer treatment plant that was damaged by the Nov. 17 tornado.

River City Construction will do the repairs because it recently expanded the plant, located off the south end of Ernest Street.

Insurance will cover most of the repair cost, which isn’t expected to exceed the $1 million policy limit. The city has a $1,000 deductible.

“River City is negotiating the cost of repairs with the insurance company,” said Washington City Engineer Ed Andrews. “The cost will fall within our coverage limit. It’ll be a $900,000-plus job. There was significant damage to the plant.”

Despite the damage, the plant is operating normally.

“Nothing critical is offline,” Andrews said. “The plant is functioning and we’re meeting our (Environmental Protection Agency) obligations. But the structures that protect the equipment need to be repaired.”